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Archive for June, 2012

I’m pretty satisfied working for myself because I’m aware that most employers do not offer flexible hours, enough mentorship, and training (I’m not even mentioning the money issue). I also know I’m going to help more small business and non-profits through my own work, my sense of accomplishment is enough to keep me going. Here’s a infographic (By YEC & MBA@UNC) breaking down understanding what makes the millennials tick, this is important because by 2020, we’ll make up almost 50% of the workforce:

Millennials volunteer at a higher rate than GenXers and Baby Boomers did at their age–82.9% college freshman participated in community service in high school. This number is the silver lining from an otherwise gloomy portrait of my generation from the Journal of Social Psychology and Personality. Aside from our higher volunteer rates, millennials are more narcissistic, extrinsically motivated, aloof to social and environmental problems than the previous two generations. As I reluctantly concluded with a thorough look at this study in the previous article, we are Generation Me. Our selflessly high community service rate? Most likely due to high school graduation requirements and boosting college applications.

Like this:

I was inspired to blog about this topic based on the article (for small businesses) How Twitter Changed My Life found on the New York Times.

Twitter has changed my life, especially since I’m new to my area. It’s open doors to connections which have led to potential clients. I really want businesses to embrace Twitter for it’s potential benefits (as mentioned in the article above)

Sometimes I’ve been asked: “what if I can pay a “kid” to do social media for my company”?

Automatically, what’s wrong in this sentence? “Kid” & “My company” are in the same sentence. Would you allow a “kid” to run your company? No, right? But what do you think you’re doing by providing this “kid” access to direct conversations with customers? (Yes, social media is a direct form of conversation with customers).

Automatically, “kids” are the solution because they have grown up with a computer and are quick to learn about using these platforms. But in the end, it’s all about sales. How well do you know your product? How long did it take you to learn how to close a deal? What are your customers really wanting? I’m pretty sure you didn’t learn everything that your company has to offer on the first day of the job and right out of college? Knowing your product/company is as important as knowing how to do social media correctly.

Next time think about it: Does this “kid” really know how to handle objections effectively (in person & online)? Do you really trust someone who has practically no experience to speak with your customers (on a daily basis)?

If you’re working with a limited budget and can only afford a “kid, teach your intern (or “kid”) how to handle objections, the “ins” & “outs” of your product/service, and the culture of your company before providing passwords to your social media accounts.

I had the pleasure of meeting author Mark Schaefer at Social Slam in April. I was blown away by his presentation of the value of influence in social media platforms and the power of a high Klout score (i.e. hotel room upgrades)

Instead of telling you how much I enjoyed the book, I will share some of the various items I highlighted throughout the book:

“Social Media is like a Darwinian hyper catalyst. Business better adapt, adopt, and become the fittest because the societal pressures through self-publishing and reviews like this are unprecedented”

“…increasing proportions of corporate marketing budgets are now dedicated to creating content and encouraging interactions that may capture a share of that conversation”

“There is content strategy and network strategy. Content strategy is the stuff you create that is valuable to other people, and network strategy is what you have that let’s you share it”

“Content is the currency of the social web, and today, creating it is as easy as typing text, uploading videos, and hitting the “publish” button”